Sheathed knife



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Sept. 13, 1955 L. SMITH SHEATHED KNIFE Filed June 19, 1955 Sept. 13, 1955 L. SMITH 2,717,442

SHEATHED KNIFE I Filed June 19, 1953 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lWmW W IINV'ENTOR. L any Smzzh,

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United States Patent SHEATHED KNIFE Larry Smith, Castro Valley, Calif.

Application June 19, 1953, Serial No. 362,897

1 Claim. (Cl. -151) This invention relates to combination tools. More particularly, the invention has reference to a combination knife and ax, so designed as to permit an ax member and a knife member to be releasably interlocked in a relationship which results in the handle of the knife member forming an extension of the ax helve.

Summarized briefly, the invention includes two main components, namely, an ax member having an ax blade and a helve rigid in said blade; and a knife member including a knife blade and a handle rigid with the knife blade. The helve of the ax member is formed with a longitudinal socket opening upon the outer end of the helve, said socket being adapted to snugly receive the blade of the knife member. As a result, in the inserted position of the knife blade, the handle of the knife member comprises an extension of the ax helve, thereby to form the ax helve to a normal length. Detent means is provided upon the ax helve, which is so formed as to inter-engage the blade of the knife member and the helve of the ax member in the inserted position of the blade. In addition, the ax member is provided with a longitudinal rib facing inwardly of the helve socket, with the knife blade of the knife member having a rib-receiving groove, thus to provide means cooperating with the detent means in holding the two main components of the device against relative separation. The knife blade, in this regard, is provided with a tapered inner end which is so shaped relative to the detent means as to exert a cam action upon the detent means during insertion of the knife blade in the socket, whereby the detent means is biased outwardly until the knife blade has been fully inserted, at which time the detent means will shift inwardly under spring tension to interlock the knife blade and ax helve.

It will be readily appreciated that a tool having the characteristics noted above is highly desirable, in that it provides a compact combination device usable under many circumstances, as for example, in camping trips. Still further, the device is of value, in that it causes the blade of the knife to be fully sheathed, thereby preventing one from accidentally injuring himself thereupon.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a combination tool of the character stated which will be so designed as to permit said tool to be manufactured at an expense little greater than the manufacture of a conventional ax and a conventional knife not having the interlocking characteristics that constitute an important feature of the present invention.

Another object of importance is to provide a combination tool as stated wherein both the ax member and the knife member will be rigid parts, thus to considerably strengthen the device.

Yet another object is to provide a construction as described wherein the means releasably interlocking the knife member and an ax member against relative separation will be so designed as to securely hold the knife member against movement relative to its associated ax member.

Other objects will appear from the following descrip- 2,717,442 Patented Sept. 13, 1955 'ice tion, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawings, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure l is a side elevational viewof a combination tool formed in accordance with the present invention, in which part has been shown in section, the knife and ax member being shown in their interlocked relationship;

Figure 2 is a top plan view; a I

Figure 3 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in longitudinal section of the ax member per se;

Figure 4 is a side elevational view'of the knife member per se; and 1 Figure 5 is a greatly enlarged, transverse sectional view taken substantially on line 55 of Figure 1. p

The reference numeral 10 has been appliedgenerally in the drawings to designate an ax member, and the reference numeral 12 has been similarly applied, to designate a knife member. 'These are the two main components of the invention, each of these members being formed asa rigid assembly, thus to simplify the manufacture thereof while at the same time adding strength to the tool.

Considering first the construction of the ax member 10, this includes a sheath or helve 14 integral or. otherwise made rigid at its inner end with an ax blade 16. The helve 14 is formed, for the greatest part of its length, with a longitudinal socket 18, said socket being-tapered at its inner end as at 20 and opening upon the outerend of the helve. It will be noted that the inner end of the socket is tapered not only in respect to the height thereof, that is, the distance between the longitudinal edges of the socket, but also in respect to the transverse dimension thereof, that is, the distance between the side surfaces of the socket (see Figure 2).

Integrally formed upon the helve 14 is alongitudinal rib 22. Rib 22, as shown in Figure 3, extends for sub-.

7 stantially the full length of the socket 18, one end of the rib being flush with the outer end of the socket, and the other end of said rib terminating at the beginning of the tapered portion 20 of the socket. The rib 22' faces 'inwardly from one side wall ofthe socket as shownin Figure 5, to provide means adapted to interlock with a knife blade, which knife blade will be described hereinafter.

The helve 14 is formed, intermediate its opposite ends, with a transverse notch 24. Notch 24 opens into communication with the outer end portion of the socket 18 (Figure 3) and has a beveled inner surface. The notch 24 is adapted to receive a lug 26 secured as by screws 27 to the free end of a spring arm 28, the spring arm being anchored at its other end, by screws or equivalent fastening elements 30, to the helve 14. The spring arm is so tensioned as to normally urge the lug into the notch 24. The lug and its associated spring arm constitute a detent means, whereby the ax member can be releasably interlocked with the knife member.

The knife member is provided with a handle 32, which is rigid at its inner end with a conventional, transversely disposed guard 34., Extending from the guard 34, and aligned longitudinally with the handle, is a knife blade 36. Blade 36 is preferably formed, at its inner end, with a thickened portion 38, the thickened portion 38 being formed to a cross sectional shape complementing the socket cross section at the outer end of the socket. The purpose of this arrangement is to cause the knife blade to completely fill the socket when the knife blade has been inserted to its maximum extent within the socket, thereby to insure against looseness when the ax and knife members are connected in the manner shown in Figure 1. The socket 18, at said outer end thereof, is of rectangular cross section as will be readily noted from Figure 5, the thickened part 38 being formed to a corresponding cross sectional configuration.

In any event, between the thickened portion 38 and the outer end of the knife blade, the knife blade is provided with a cutting edge 40, said cutting edge extending fully to the outer or free end of the knife blade.

In the illustrated example of the invention, the knife blade is tapered at its outer end as at 42, the taper of the knife blade complementing the tapered formation of the inner end of the socket 18. As a result, the inner end portion of the blade will be firmly engaged within the socket 18.

Formed in one side surface of the knife blade is a longitudinal groove 44, which extends fully from the guard 34 tothe beginning-of the tapered portion 42 of the knife blade. That end of groove 44 that terminates at the tapered portion 42 is flared as at- 46, to insure against misalignment of rib 22 relative to groove 44, when the knife blade is being initially inserted in the socket 118. It will be readily appreciated that when the knife member is to be secured to the ax member in the manner shown in Figure 1, the tapered part 42 of the knife blade 36 will first be inserted in the outer end of the socket, and as a result, the flared part 46-of the groove 44 will guide the rib 22 into said groove 44.

As the insertion of the knife blade continues, the tapered formation'of the outer end of the knife blade will cause the edge of the knife blade to engage against the beveled surface of the lug 26, and as a result, the lug will be cammed outwardly from the notch 24. The insertion of theknifebl'adecan thus beefiected with maximum ease, and when the knife blade has been fully inserted, and the guard 34 has been engaged against the outer end of the helve, a notch 48 provided on the back of the knife blade 36, adjacent guard 34, will register with the notch 24 of the helve. As a result, the lug 26 will spring back into the registering notches 24,48, as shown in Figures 1 and5, thus releasablyinterlocking the knife and ax members.

It is an important characteristic of the invention that the rib 22 and groove 44 constitute interengaging means and cooperate to so locate the knife blade within its associated socket 18 as to hold the cutting edge of the knife blade in spaced relation to the adjacent surface of the socket, thereby protecting the knife blades cutting edge against being dulled. At the same time, the rib and groove means cooperate tointerlock the helve and the knife blade.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not neces sarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A sheathed knife comprising a sheath having a longitudinal socket opening upon one end thereof, the sheath being formed with a transverse notch opening into communication with said socket intermediate opposite ends of the socket; detent means carried by the sheath and normally engaging in said notch; a longitudinal rib formed upon the sheath within said socket; and a knife member including a handle and a knife blade rigid with the handle and aligned longitudinally with the handle, said knife blade being insertible in the socket of the sheath and having a notch registering with the sheath notch in the inserted position thereof andreceiving said detent means, for releasably interlocking the sheath and knife blade, the knife member being provided with a longitudinal groove extending for substantially the fulllength of the knife blade, said groove of the knife blade beingadapted to receive the longitudinal rib of the sheath to cooperate with said detent means in interlocking the sheath and knife blade.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 675,118 Sweet May 28, 1901 1,176,192 Beckton et al Mar. 21, 1916 2,005,176 Arbuckle June 18, 1935 2,105,239 Bachtold Ian. 11, 1938 2,528,059 Kendrick Oct. 31, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 30,434 Sweden Mar. 4, I911 

